He attended Ohio State’s victory over Michigan on Nov. 24 at Ohio Stadium as a Buckeyes guest, and the momentum change in his recruiting culminated with his decision yesterday during his official visit with the Buckeyes.

Massillon Washington coach Jason Hall said Conley called him from Meyer’s office around noon to tell him the news. Conley had been scheduled to visit Ann Arbor, Mich., next week. That won’t happen.

“In this business, I’m never surprised,” Hall said. “I think that Ohio State is obviously one of the top programs in the country. Coach Meyer and his staff do an awesome job.”

Conley is ranked a four-star prospect by Scout.com and a three-star by Rivals.com. He becomes the 18th member of Ohio State’s 2013 recruiting class.

Hall said Conley didn’t play football as a freshman, played mostly receiver as a sophomore then primarily cornerback as a junior. He played both offense and defense as a senior.

“This year, he was off the charts on both sides of the ball,” Hall said.

Conley caught more than 40 passes and averaged almost 22 yards per reception.

Hall said Ohio State probably won’t decide whether he’ll play offense or defense until he gets on the field next year.

Michigan was the first top program to show an interest in Conley, Hall said, and he committed to the Wolverines in March. But Ohio State’s interest in him grew.

When Meyer visited Conley while in Canton for the high-school state championships, the courtship gained steam.

“I know he very, very much enjoyed his visit with coach Meyer,” Hall said.

Hawaii hires OSU official

The voice mail was waiting for Ben Jay when his flight from Hawaii touched down late Thursday night.

The University of Hawaii wanted him to become its athletic director. Jay is a Columbus native and has bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Ohio State in addition to being associate athletic director for finance and operations since 2006.

Jay was torn about leaving, but he decided it was an offer he couldn’t decline.“It’s always a tough decision,” Jay said at St. John Arena after the rally to celebrate Ohio State’s undefeated football season. “When you’ve been here at Ohio State with a great organization and people and bosses like (athletic director) Gene (Smith) and President (Gordon) Gee, it’s an amazing experience to be a part of. It’s hard to leave that.

“But this is what we all dream about and aspire to. To lead a program, to lead a great bunch of people there, is exciting.”

Jay, 55, said he expects to start at Hawaii in January. Hawaii is a member of the Mountain West Conference in football and the Big West or Mountain Pacific Sports Federation in other sports.

“I’m happy for him,” Smith said. “I’m proud of him, happy for his family. Ben’s a seasoned professional, so I think he’ll do a good job at Hawaii.”